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customer safety, it matters too

Posted by  on 30 November 2009, 8:55 pm

superstoremost consumer/customer safety issues usually are related to ensuring injury or health related issues do not occur due to the use or consumption of the product purchased.  however, a store is and should be responsible for the safety of its consumers while on all the premises of the respective store. some might argue that they are, and fair enough, most (if not all) stores are usually careful in regards to the safety of the customer while inside the store, the designated parking lots are part of the store as well.

last night, part of the grocery shopping took us to the real canadian superstore. while i won’t divulge which one, i will say that it is in vancouver (you’ll see why later). while approaching the car with the cart following the shopping experience, a homeless person approached us and demanded to take the cart back to its ‘parking’ spot. to put this in perspective for some of you, in order to use the carts at superstore one needs to place a loonie (a $1 coin) in the cart; which gets returned when taking the cart back. now, i’m not picking on superstore, but it’s quite clear as to why some homeless will chose superstore over other stores to ‘provide’ this service; and thus why you see these people in superstore parking lots rather than safeway, save-on-foods and walmart.

this is not the first time a homeless person has approached us in order to ask to take the cart back so that they receive the $1. however, this is the first time the person seemed demanding and very pushy. the guy, once i refused, turned around and approached the person parked next to my car. following this, he made his way into the covered parking area for the carts (an area which tends to be a bit darker). regardless, the pushiness and the fact that i spotted to of them in close proximity to each other…made me wonder.

first off, it’s not the first time it happened. it’s actually the ‘nth’ time. some might argue that they are making an effort to provide some sort of a service for the $1, in comparison to the ones on the street that simply beg. however, what will happen when they simply won’t accept a refusal by walking away? it’s not such an extreme idea. over the summer in vancouver, there have been reported incidence where beggars became aggressive once their request were refused. what will happen when the $1 is not enough and they ask for me. or better yet, what will happen starting december (given than from the 4th of december, superstore decide to combat walmart’s idea and keep some stores open 24h) if a woman is alone and walking to her car in the late hours of a day and refuses to accept the request?

so, this brings me to my point. who should be responsible for the safety of the customers in the parking lot of a store? should it be store? should it be the police of the city? or should it be a joint effort? i’d like to see the vancouver rcmp put this on their priority list. doubt it will happen. but i do wonder how superstore will respond to being put this question. i wonder how the vancouver mayor’s office will respond when questioned about this.

i do think that a store should be responsible for the safety of its shoppers from the time they enter their parking lot to the time the exit; limiting this only to safety in regards to injury or hurt but not due to consumption of the products. so this begs the question, should one continue to shop there if one does not feel 100% safe on the premises of the store? should one bring this up to with the store? the city hall? whom? well, i did provide superstore with my complaint earlier today. i am waiting to see how they will handle this.

Filed under safety, vancouver. Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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high security at yvr

Posted by  on 12 October 2009, 9:40 pm

recently i had the pleasure of traveling north-bound on vacation in order to visit some old friends and enjoy what nature has to offer at footsteps from the north pole. anyhow, the decision was to travel by plane, after-all driving 2000 kms is not always a desired thing to do. by this point i am assuming you all know where this is heading, yes something to do with a company that managed to annoy me. well in this case i decided to travel with air canada. the only reason as to why, was because due to some parental help i had a code for 5% discount for the flight. at the time, air canada was trying to fight back west jet (and west jet’s offer of matching the price of a discounted fare if purchased earlier). thinking i am somewhat covered, i figured why not. well i purchased two tickets (round-trip) from vancouver to yellowknife.

about 3 weeks later i noticed the price decreased in total about $250. well, quite a big decrease. so, i decided to see if they were true to their word and if they will match the new price. i called them and left a voice-mail, as it was quite hard to get a customer rep. anyhow, they did eventually call back (about 2 days later), to inform me that the ticket is non-refundable, which means i can’t even try to get a re-fund, lose some part of the ticket and buy the new ones. essentially, i got told tough luck. i tried arguing, and telling that west jet offers this thing, but of course they had the clause ‘non-refundable’. so be it, i figured it doesn’t matter, so might as well fly with them. after all, it’s likely it will be the last time given west jet does seem to at least pretend they take better care for their customers. thus, they did essentially lose a customer that actually flies a few times a year.

anyhow, long story shorter…on the day of the flight we leave for the airport by bus/sky-train (yes, we decided to try the new crappy line). overall, the crappy line did impress, given it was direct to the airport and made it quite easy. no major complains about it (except the dumb rationale used to design the stations, especially the one at yvr – given the order of ticket machines do not make sense). overall, good idea, but dumb way of managing the project. anyhow, we get to yvr quite rapidly and get in line to get our tickets. all goes well, and we get to the security check point. put the carry-ons through the x-ray machine, and walk through the metal detector. my significant other passes first, and the metal detector beeps. the guys with his portable metal detector decides to check her over, and around the hips the detector beeps. she was wearing a pair of jeans (and you all know the jeans have the metal parts that might beep). anyhow, beeps once and the security guy calls for help from a female guard who confirms my significant other is only wearing jeans. well, the guy checks again on the other hip with his metal detector, which beeps again. and again he asks for help. overall the thing beeped 3 times, around the same area…and he wasn’t bright enough to realize it’s the jeans (given they were tight on the legs). kind of makes you wonder what kind of test these puppets in uniform have to go through prior to getting hired (given they are allowed in restricted and secure areas). anyhow, we get on the first plane, the second…and we arrive in yellowknife.

after a week and a half, we get to the yellowknife airport and go directly to the ticket desk. hand in our passports, at which point i notice the young lady across the counter turn to her fellow employee and whisper something to her. essentially on her lips i noticed ‘it’s expired’, and seeing how she had my passport in hand…i quickly interrupt. as it turns out i took the wrong passport (the old one) with me to fly. not quite something smart on my part, but overall given it was in canada i would have been ok. anyhow, essentially i passed through five different points where my passport was checked and was allowed to proceed, until the sixth where a young 20 some girl noticed. give her credit, she was new at the job…perhaps that’s why she paid attention. the woman at the air canada desk at yvr did not notice the expire date on my passport was 2007, she gave me the ticket…did not warn me, notice me or tell me to present another piece of id. the pre-security screen check took a look at the boarding passes and the passport and let me proceed to the security point at yvr. the horny puppet at the security point was causing so much of a scene with the beeps and request for help that nobody bothered to check the details on my passport…so i was allowed to proceed. the girl at the entry to the plane did not notice and neither did the one in calgary. so, overall i passed through 5 points where my passport was checked and nobody noticed i was traveling with an expired passport.

well it’s good to know that the girl that noticed the expire date was extremely enthusiastic and essentially proceeded to state that this ‘made her day’, but that got me wondering…yvr is an international airport. the same airport where security did not notice that a man was hanging around aimlessly for almost 10 hours two years ago, prior to calling the cops who proceed to kill him through electrocution within 60 seconds from arriving. makes you wonder the level of security in the airport that is supposed to protect the travels coming to the next olympiad. given the winter olympics are coming to this boring city, i was hoping for a higher sense of security from the airport hosting the games and from the ‘official’ airline of the 2010 olympics. overall, it was 7am so i guess the customer rep at the counter was too tired…then again seems quite easy to obtain a ticket with a ‘fake’ (fake since it was expired for 2 years) piece of id and proceed to the security check. not to mention that the security puppets at the security check where things are supposed to be caught in case they are not proper, are more interested in staring at an ass and holding back a girl, make her spin a few times…so that their security cameras can get a good view every part of her body…given she had her sweater raised so that her jeans were visible. that to me seems more or less like sexual harassment, but if one complains…one will only label oneself for further detail checks when traveling through this secure airport. can one blame a horny security puppet, or perhaps should one question the ones responsible for hiring these lack for professionalism security guards. if this is how they secure the airport, i wonder what other things they have missed.

the other check points, well it’s clear they only check the name…not anything else. after-all if the main security check allowed the person to pass…then they must be in order. level of security at the yvr, quite poor. level of shameless acts, quite high. it was quite surprising to see that security misses a person hanging around for hours in an apparent secure area, but after the latest trip through yvr…makes you wonder what caught the attention of the security puppets. one can only hope they will raise their level within the next 4 months, if not…we’re in for perhaps a few ugly surprises…

Filed under safety, travels, vancouver. Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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contract stranglehold

Posted by  on 27 August 2009, 12:10 pm
i recently ran across a friend’s post about customer service, and while i was tempted to add my 2 cents on to his blog…i figured i’d share my thoughts on my latest experiences (and yes i do mean experiences). prior to diving right in, a quick update. given the latest changes in my life, i had to contact a few providers in order to purchase their services (which included cellphone, cable, internet, and more).
at the beginning of this week i went to shaw to ‘plea’ my case and try to get a worth while package which should include high speed internet and an hd box. prior to this i did go by telus and got information on their latest offer (free basic hd for a student for a year, $10 off dsl internet, free hd box rental for the duration of the 3 year contract and $6 or $5 per package depending on the number of packages you get on top of the basic cable). well, this seemed a bit cheaper than what the regular price shaw had…but shaw has stepped it up a notch – they’re offering no contracts. so, on monday i went by the shaw tower (the only location in vancouver…) and decided to test the waters and see what they would offer me. to my surprise i didn’t really have to plea anything as they essentially threw a package at me that i just couldn’t refuse (yes somewhat of a godfather reference, but no guns). the offer, free 2 months full hd and high speed internet, and then $20 for their service for the next 10 months, with free rental of the hd box. i didn’t quite have a comeback or any desire to try and decrease the price.

the beauty of shaw is the fact that you don’t have to sign a long term contract, make the commitment in order to get the sweet deal. well, if you live in vancouver you most likely know that shaw is pretty much the only provider that offers this. by far the worst company to deal with when it comes to contracts is rogers wireless. at this point they are the only providers of a wireless service that uses sim cards (yes i know fido does too…but fido is rogers little b…., so your money still goes to rogers). anyhow, bell is bringing (or phasing i should say) this particular service in by the end of the year (i can’t wait). anyhow, long story here’s what happened.

first, a bit of background. i’ve had a rogers cellphone for about 7 years now. i have three lines on my account and i’ve had three lines for the last 3 years, and the previous 4 i had 2 lines. more or less, what i learned about rogers is…as long as you’re under contract you are just a little number to them and you won’t get any attention. that includes disrespectful customer representatives and lack of care. about 3 weeks ago i went by one of their retail locations (and if you’ve ever been to one, you know that it’s useless if you’re a customer already as those little pawns are useless. so, i decided to call customer service and ask to add a fourth line on the account, just offer me a better deal that a new customer would get (given i’ve been with them for 7 years). now, i have roughly 1 year to go on each of the three lines i have with them. so, the first customer representative that i got pretty much told me to ‘fuck off’, because i’m already getting a sweet deal which i shouldn’t be getting from them. essentially a few years back after my contract was done i called and tried to cancel because bell offered me the same place for $10 cheaper, so rogers matched it by giving me a $10 credit per phone per month on the account. after this, i told him the offer bell gave me 2 days earlier…even cheaper than i’m paying rogers right now (which would included 250 daytime minutes, called id, voice-mail, 250 txt, free bell to bell, weeknights from 7pm and weekends free all for $32/month which included the system access fee and tax…sweet deal). so i asked rogers to match, so that i don’t have to get bell at this point. the customer rep shortly told me no, we can’t, you’re getting a good enough deal, plus we have the best network service available, implying i won’t switch. i inform him that their network does fail quite frequently…at which point he states…it’s due to my phone because it’s 2 years old. it’s two years old…if the phone wont’ work properly after two years…then why have a 3 year contract…

anyhow, called again and talked a new rep. he was more helpful…and to some extent had a bit more professionalism in his approach. however, he offered me a plan at the price for a new customer…stating that in a few months i can call and ask them to change it by stating i have 4 lines and i’m loyal, so please decrease my payments (they won’t do that now…doubtful they will when i have a plan which has just under 3 years left). anyhow…i pretty much said thanks…i won’t get it.

so, i call again on friday august 21st. i talked to a rep, an incompetent arrogant fool, so i asked to be transferred to a supervisor. he transferred me, the only thing is that he pressed the ‘hung-up’ button rather than the hold button (i’m assuming it wasn’t ‘intentional’). anyhow, i called back and demanded to speak with a supervisor right away. however, the new rep decided he can help me…of course quite useless…so after wasting 10 more minutes he did transfer me to the floor supervisor. the only thing the supervisor was saying was…we can’t and we apologize…so i asked if there is anyone that has the power to change my account or make an actual decision. so, the supervisor from sales transfers me to the customer relations department at 6:30pm pacific time. i wait on hold for 15 minutes, after which i decide to call back later.

i called 30 minutes later and asked specifically for the customer relations department, at which point i was informed they are closed and have been closed since 6pm pacific time. apparently the sales department stays open till 8pm pacific time, but not customer relations….one can surely see what their biggest priority is. anyhow, i essentially got hung up once and the second time i got transferred to a closed department by a supervisor. if she doesn’t know what time the other department closes in her own company (nor was she willing to check prior to sending me there) how is she even capable of managing the floor…

anyhow, i called again on august 24th, to inform them that i am quite unhappy with their service, lack of respect and professionalism. the customer rep realized he won’t be able to actually calm me down, so he states i will get your information and you will get a supervisor contacting you tomorrow (august the 25th). it’s thursday, august 27th and i have yet to get a call back.</br>

on top of this, i did write them a feedback online. and to their reply by email, i responded with an explanation of the events.

why did i not cancel yet, well essentially the fee i must pay is about $600+. while this is doable, they are the only ones with a sim card and i doubt i will get a better deal if i come back to them as a new customer. i can’t yet go to bell…so i must wait till december-ish, once they have their sim cards out.

as soon as your under contract you won’t get the service (and yes…there are more out there). now this is not specific to rogers, telus behaves the same, bell (based on what i’ve heard) behaves similarly. so the best you can hope for is get the best deal possible prior to signing the contract, as you’ll live it for 3 years. time and time again, rogers has proven that a customer under contract is just a small figure for income. we pay through our nose for cell phone service…they charge every small feature…and on top of this…good luck getting attention. go to europe, where there is more competition…you have cheaper phone plans and more features included in the plan. you get more bang for your dollar (well…euro there). at this point, the cheapest you can hope to pay per month is $35 (to include the access fee and tax) and for that you basicly just get to talk to a few people…no voice-mail nor called id. i hope that vodafone decides to bring its business over here…have some healthy competition. so customer service..certainly, just make sure you’re not under contract.

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